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Intro and apartment advice
Hi Girls.
I currently live in the Boston area, but will be moving to NYC this January. H got a great job offer, so we decided to relocate.
This weekend we are heading down to check out apartments.
Can you offer any advice?
H's job is in Soho. I will be working from home.
We would like a true one bedroom apartment (as I've noticed some places consider the living room a bedroom). I don't need (and can't afford) a big place, but I do want it big enough to fit a normal sized sofa in the living room and a queen size bed in the bedroom without having to scooch off the bottom of the bed to get out.
We really want to be in an area near a lot of shops and restaurants. We also would really like to have laundry in the building.
We're looking to spend $2000-$2500 a month.
Living outside of the city isn't really an option for us, as living inside the city was a big deciding factor in our choice to take the new job.
Is this even possible? I love the Soho area, but don't know if we'll be able to find something decent in our price range. If we can't find something here, what other neighborhoods would you recommend? From what I can see online the Financial district seems to have the nicest most affordable apartments, but I'm assuming the area is a snoozefest. Is this assumption correct?
Any advice or suggestions you can offer would be great.
Thanks so much.
**Sorry for the rambling.
Re: Intro and apartment advice
You're moving from one of my favorite cities, to my favorite city itself:) Congrats!
It may be a good idea to research the different neighborhoods around NYC to see what type of neighborhood feels like home to you. Quite a few of the girls on this board live in Brooklyn.
I live in the Upper East Side and love it. We found our apartment via Craigslist. It's owned by the Archstone company (they have many buildings around Manhattan) if you want to google them. We are really enjoying living in the UES.
We got lucky and didn't need a broker (I hate the fee's) but if you are coming in from OOT, it may be a good idea to contact one to help you. A good friend of mine used this company:
http://www.citi-habitats.com/
Another friend recommended this company for buildings:
http://www.glenwoodnyc.com/properties/
Feel free to PM me with any questions or anything. I just made the big move myself last month from northern NJ. The girls on the NYC board are great and helped me a lot too.
Welcome! Many years ago, I too made the move from Boston to NYC. I have never regretted it. I was lucky, however, and was moving in with my guy who already had an apartment.
My suggestion is to look at the subway lines near your H's work and look at neighborhoods that are along those lines. Don't discount moving to one of the outer boroughs just because it's not what some people consider "the city." Manhattan is not the only place with restaurants, shops and amenities. And, yes, the financial district is bustling during the day, but has few options beyond that.
There are many great neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens where you can get more bang for your buck in terms of housing, and still have lots of great things within a short walk. In fact, you can find a nice apartment in my neighborhood for far less than your budget. The commute might be a bit longer, but Manhattan isn't far.
Some neighborhoods to consider that I think are great neighborhoods and where I personally like to hang out:
Brooklyn: Fort Greene, Park Slope
Queens: Astoria, Sunnyside, Forest Hills
My husband works in SoHo and we live in Park Slope, Brooklyn and only pay $2,000 for a 2 1/2 bedroom (the 3rd "bedroom" just doesn't have a closet) .. We LOVE it here. We're in south slope, 2 blocks from Prospect Park and the F train which takes H right into SoHo. We recently relocated here from Portland OREGON so I know how much it sucks to find a place on short notice, but at least you're only in Boston, which is much closer
If you have any questions or need a broker recommendation, let me know!
How long is the commute for your H? H has had years of long commutes so he was really looking forward to a short one, but I've been hearing lots of good things about Park Slope and other areas right outside of Manhattan.
I do kind of have this fantasy of living out my Manhattan dream even if it is a shoebox (since I know the move is temporary 1-2 years). That could be me being completely naive though.
Thank you all for the welcome and suggestions.
All told (walking, waiting for train, subway ride, walking again) it's about 45 minutes each way.
But since we were driving 1 hour+ each way in Portland, the subway is a relief
We're also in South Slope.. so it's a bit longer. If you can get something close to an express line (I think the A, B, D, N and Q are express lines?) that might make the trip even faster. Google maps is really good for telling you how long it'll take to get from address to address via public transportation. In fact, the google maps app on my phone has saved my ass a few times when I had no idea where I was
Welcome! You could also check out Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. You might be able to find a one bedroom in your price range in that neighborhood.
Hello and Welcome!!!!
You can definitely find a nice place on your budget in the city. We live uptown and pay less than that for a fairly spacious one bedroom near the express subway. In the financial district you will find fancier buildings for less money but yes the area is such a snooze. It is bustling during the work week and DEAD DEAD DEAD on the weekends. It's so dead it's creepy. At least to me.
Good luck!
EMERALDEYED315!!!!
I believe we are neighbors!!! I am going to PM you....
I second looking outside Manhattan, you'll get way more bang for your buck. I grew up in Queens and had the "live in Manhattan" dream for about 2.2 seconds - until I realized I liked my stuff and actually wanted to be able to keep it all and have room for it. :-)
Welcome to the board!
I'll speak up for going for the "living in Manhattan dream". That was my dream when I moved here and I've been happily living in Manhattan for the last 9+ years. Yes, it is expensive and you sacrifice on space, but IMHO I wouldn't trade what's right outside my door for the extra square footage. We actually live in a really nice sized 1br with amazing closet space in a doorman building on the UWS. You could definitely find what you are looking for in your budget up here, especially if you look for a walk-up. The UWS is my favorite neighborhood - and I've lived in several throughout Manhattan. It has great restaurants, enough shopping to get you by, two amazing parks, and good subway options (so easy access to the rest of the city).
If you guys decided to relocate in part to experience living in Manhattan, I say do it! You can always just live here for a year and then explore your options in other neighborhoods after that. Good luck!
I think you can def. find a 1 bedroom in your price range in Manhattan, I don't know about specifically in soho as it is in expensive area, but I don't think that it should be impossible.
If you really want to live in Manhattan then I say go for it. I think the outer boroughs are great (I live in Bklyn), but they are different than the city. There is something to be said about being able to walk to work also.
So I say to def. check out Manhattan if that is what you want, you can always expand your search if you're not finding what you're looking for.
Thank you girls. I appreciate all of your advice and thanks for making feel welcome.
I'm little bit overwhelmed with everything right now (selling house, finding apt and storage, etc), but I'm trying to make the transition as smooth as possible. We're going to head down this weekend to check out some places.
Wish us luck : )
We live in Chelsea, on the edge that's close to Union Square and right above 14th st. We can get to most of the subways within a few minutes, and the area is packed with stuff (bars, restaurants, shopping etc). We have a one bedroom in your price range (the low end of your price range), a FULL kitchen with a dishwasher, a living room with a full couch and armchair (small armchair, but still!) 3 full size bookshelves AND a big TV. Our bedroom is big enough for a queen size bed, 2 dressers and a small wardrobe. I love our apartment and we have laundry in the basement. No doorman, but we have an elevator and our super signs for all our deliveries.
I'm just saying, it can totally be done. We've been living in this space for 6 years and continue to be happy with it!
Just be persistent and don't give up, we looked at a lot of apartments before we found this, and I'm glad we didn't settle on something that was just "meh" because we certainly saw a lot of places that weren't as great a deal.
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